Our Oakland buddy dubbed that as the name of his BBQ. Scott served up some our favorites from last time, including that amazing hickory-smoked salmon.

I fried up some beef lumpia for the party. I left out the patis & peanut oil in this batch. Another party-goer offered up his home-brewed Brown Ale. He said he used brown sugar. He says that’s probably what gave his foamy beer its caramel aftertaste.

For dessert, Scott made vanilla ice cream. It tasted so creamy and sweet. I wanted seconds.
Check out the video by clicking the “Read More” link:

Share and Enjoy

I love our grill! June has been a great month to toss meat, seafood and veggies over the flames.

I love the communal nature of grilling. As a married couple, we share prep duties in the kitchen. Together, we brainstorm herb and spice rubs for our proteins and vegetables. Over the weekend, I used salt, pepper and Spice Islands’ Chipotle Chile Seasoning on our shrimp kabobs.

At parties, people gravitate towards the food. Many offer to help with seasoning, boiling and other food duties. At a BBQ at our buddy’s house in Oakland, I helped boil and mix up the German potato salad. I also loved the hickory-smoked salmon at this party. Our host, Scott, didn’t sprinkle salt or pepper on the fish. He said all he need was the salmon fat and the smoke. Yum! That smoke cooked and seasoned the fish beautifully.

Share and Enjoy

On Saturday night, Mark pointed out we had a lot of good-byes. In San Francisco, we said “Bon Voyage” to my Medill for her cross-country road trip home. We also watched the last episodes of Battlestar Galactica. The series finale answered all questions except for one: “Will there be another war between the humans and cylons?”

My hubby and I had our first movie date there. Scary Movie 2. I know, quality cinema. Beyond my love life, I feel like this theater played a big part in my coming of age in the Bay Area. It was one of the first places I enjoyed ordering beer and chilling with my friends. It was a lovely place to hang out without trying to scream at each other over loud dance music and strobing lights.

Damn you, Recession! I’ve covered plenty of victims of the economic slowdown. The Parkway was one of the good guys who couldn’t get off the sinking ship. It broke my heart to watch this clip before we watched our last movie inside the theater: “Let The Right One In.” (It’s a Swedish Vampire film, with English Subtitles). There is another Speakeasy Theater in El Cerrito, but it’s not the same. The Parkway was the OG and so many people showed up this weekend to pay their final respects.

Some history…
Monica the Tiki Goddess was one of my supervisors at the Residential Computing Labs. She clued me into the best movie theater in the Bay Area. Cheap tickets, quality beer, yummy pizza and large couches. Who could ask for anything more when it came to the theater experience?

Monica and her hubby, Will the Thrill, also indulged my love of classic films (Hitchcock! James Bond!) and turned me on to cult hits.

On top of that, the Parkway provided an open stage for community gatherings. Anything from New Year’s Eve Parties to the final screening of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, I was there for that. It rocked my world to be surrounded by Buffy fans cheering on the Slayer and her Slayer-ettes. We even saw a bonus screening of the Musical: “Once More With Feeling.”